TRAI TARIFF PLANS: How to deal with higher TV channel prices

With only 36 hours to go for TRAI’s deadline to implement new tariff plans for cable and DTH platforms in India, all DTH providers and most cable users are faced with the dilemma of how to choose the channels and packs they are going to watch in the new regime. The new system was supposed […]

TRAI RULE: Sun Direct beats Tata Sky, Airtel, D2h by offering all channels for Rs 153 network fee

Sun Direct, the smallest of the six DTH players in India, has bowled a googly at its rivals like Tata Sky and D2h by offering all its channels at a network charge of Rs 154 only. In comparison, other DTH and cable firms give only the first 100 channels for Rs 154. In other words, […]

TRAI Rules: D2h adds support for Star channel packs

D2h, the DTH service from Dish TV India Ltd, has added support for several channel packs from Star India, in an apparent deviation from its earlier stance. The DTH operator had, like rival Sun Direct, omitted all channel packs from Star India when it came out with its list of supported broadcaster packs. There have […]

Can Netflix avoid going Apple’s way in India?

As Netflix inches closer to saturation point in its North American home market, it is desperately looking for growth abroad. India being the only billion plus market where it can operate with ease, it is no wonder that its push is aggressive here. However, as Netflix’s market share stagnates, does it risk meeting the same […]

Channel Tariffs: TRAI ‘clarification’ creates massive confusion

A clarification by broadcast regulator TRAI intended to stop cable and DTH operators from forcing ‘junk channels’ on customers has created massive confusion, with media outlets failing to understand what the regulator was trying to say, and in turn confusing their readers. TRAI had, on January 10, clarified that there was no rule that the […]

2019: The Turning Point for Indian M&E?

Growth trends of last decade show that Indian M&E can act as an important contributor to India’s economic growth, but the sector continues to be a dwarf compared to its global peers. Can 2019 prove to be a point of inflection and kick-start next decade of explosive growth? The year was 2009 when Indian media […]

DTH, cable subscribers complain of being moved to ‘junk’ plans ahead of TRAI deadline

With the telecom and media regulator asking for daily reports from DTH and cable players on migration of consumers to TRAI-compliant plans ahead of the Jan 31 deadline, many consumers have complained of being moved to unwanted packs by their providers. Under TRAI Tariff Order 2017, all cable and DTH subscribers have to be moved […]

Upper caste reservation bill to be presented at 2 PM

The government will present a new bill to amend the constitution and introduce a new 10% quota for ‘forward communities’ at 2 PM today. The bill will be presented by minister of social justice and empowerment Thawar Chand Gehlot. The bill will add a new criteria for providing reservation — economic backwardness — to the […]

TRAI List: Tata Sky leads with 92 HD Channels; Airtel Digital, Sun Direct edge out Dish & D2h

India’s major DTH broadcasters have declared their channel lists and prices under TRAI’s new tariff rules, and an analysis of the same reveals that Tata Sky continues to be undisputed king of HD Channels in India, followed closely by Airtel Digital and Sun Direct. Dish TV and D2h, meanwhile, have slightly less comprehensive lists of […]

Sabarimala women’s entry re-opens BJP’s ‘golden chance’ in Kerala

After waiting patiently for a breakthrough, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s prayers in Kerala seem to have been finally answered in the form of a crucial development in the Sabarimala temple standoff with two women entering the temple at night under police protection. The BJP has already kicked off a massive campaign to exploit the emotional […]

Tata Sky, Airtel Digital could benefit from new TRAI rules on channel packs

The curious case of the missing Star India channel packs on DTH platforms like D2h and Sun Direct has pointed to the position of relative strength enjoyed by platforms like Tata Sky and Airtel Digital in the new TRAI regime. Under the new rules, distribution platforms like Tata Sky, Dish TV and Sun Direct are […]

TRAI PLANS: Channel prices cut as negotiations drag on with DTH, cable cos

Even as cable and DTH companies prepare to pull most of the expensive channels out of their base packs from December 29 over pricing issues, three broadcasters — Times Network, TV18 and Zee Entertainment — have reduced or rationalized their channel prices and packs. While Times Network has cut the price of 10 out of […]

LIST: Sony Pictures unveils 6 channel packs in SD, 4 in HD

Sony Pictures Networks India, the company runs popular TV channels such as Sony Entertainment Television, Max, AXN & Ten Sports, has unveiled a clutch of channel packs ahead of the December 29 deadline by the TRAI for the introduction of new tariff plans. SONY’S UPDATED PACKS CAN BE SEEN HERE The key difference between Sony’s […]

TRAI tariff rules set stage for big fight between channels and DTH-cable cos

The impending December 29 deadline for the introduction of a new set of rules governing the prices of TV channels has set the stage for a mega showdown between broadcasters on the one side and the cable and DTH industry on the other. At the core of the fight is the question of who gets […]

FULL LIST: 332 pay channels, 500 FTA declared under TRAI plan

With the December 29 deadline for the implementation of the new TRAI rules drawing near, an analysis of the 332 channels that have already declared their prices indicates that Star India is the most expensive, followed by Zee and Sony. Scroll down to see the full list of pay and FTA channels available on most […]

TRAI Says New Rules Won’t Raise Cable, DTH prices Or Hurt LCOs

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has dismissed the “fabrications and concoctions” being circulated on social media about the new tariff rules that will come into effect on December 29. In a statement, the regulator countered two broad concerns on the upcoming tariff scheme — that consumers will have to pay far more to watch their […]

Most cable, DTH packs will disappear on December 29

With the Dec 29 deadline for the introduction of new cable and DTH plans approaching, operators are finalizing their strategy to deal with the regulatory change as smoothly as possible. According to industry sources, the strategy of the DTH and cable operators will be built around offering three primary plans — a basic pack, a […]